I no longer sponge off of the economically distressed and/or chronically disorganized

[botias]

My checking account is not free anymore. It hasn't been since around the time there were laws passed dis-allowing banks from a number of mean practices such as A) charging an exorbitant fee for each individual item that they clear on a overdrawn account, and B) posting withdrawals before deposits so as to increase the chances that an account will be overdrawn, even if only for a fraction of a second, but nevertheless plenty of time to trigger A) I'm sure. So I was getting free bank services on the backs of people living from paycheck to paycheck. It irks me to pay for something I got free for so long, but I wouldn't go back. Still, I've been considering switching to one of my local banks which still offer free checking. The down side: they are not faceless corporations that let me get away with all sorts of hijinks because I am too small to matter. Oh, and Happy New Year!